The present invention is directed to a closing clip for a carton having with an edge that can be opened, like a paperboard box classically used for the treatment of milk or powdered products. The invention also refers to a carton equipped with a similar panel and to a fabrication process for such a carton.
The use of a handle is known from Stuart, U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,333, for purposes of keeping the upper multifold edge of a cardboard carton closed. Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,967 also shows the use of a metal or plastic flap in the shape of a spout and equipped with ridges intended to create a concentration zone with constraints on an upper edge of a paperboard carton in view of the articulation of this flap on this panel. In the traditional approach, such a flap is obtained by extrusion and cutting. The means by which the flap is affixed to the carton is not secure, and sometimes such a flap can become loose during transport or when the carton is exposed for sale, and subject to petty larceny. Moreover, in order to be rigid enough to maintain the edge of the carton effectively closed, the flap must be of a fairly significant thickness, which complicates its manufacture and increases its final cost.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a closing flap which can be manufactured using a totally different approach, and which allows the upper multifold edge of a carton to be kept effectively closed.